A Twist of Fate
by esteed
Summary: Mrs. Peel is kidnapped, and Steed goes searching. Please read and review!!!
1. The Story

CHAPTER ONE  
  
  
  
The morning was dark. A light rain was falling, and there was a heavy fog. An older man, of about forty in a black trench coat stood under a street light on a bridge. He was of an average height, with wavy dark brown hair, and light blue eyes. He wouldn't have stood out in a crowd, except for one thing. He was missing a hand. A younger man with light blonde hair, and flashing green eyes who was wearing a trench coat similar to the other man's walked up.  
  
"So, you've finally decided to show up Tibbet," the older man remarked.  
  
"I just got your message. Why did we have to meet so early?"  
  
"Because, someone is in town. Someone who we have wanted to get revenge on for a very long time."  
  
"Are you talking about who I think you're talking about?"  
  
"Yes. Steed is in town. Meet me tomorrow morning outside the Hampton Inn. There's something I want to show you."  
  
CHAPTER TWO  
  
A tall, slim, attractive woman with auburn hair unlocked the door of her apartment and walked in.  
  
"Mrs. Peel, I'm glad you're here. I've been waiting for ages."  
  
Steed was about forty, with wavy brown hair, and dark brown eyes. As usual he was dressed to a t, with a matching three piece suit. The bowler hat that he normally wore, and his brolly were hanging on a tall dark coat rack which was placed near the door.  
  
"Steed, don't you know that it's polite to wait for the owner to get home." Mrs. Peel drawled. "You could have just left me a message on my answering machine."  
  
"No I couldn't. I just got some very old, very expensive champagne, and I thought maybe you would like to share some with me."  
  
Steed brought out a bottle of champagne and two wine glasses.  
  
"I can't. I need to go out of town."  
  
"Oh?" Steed replied. "Where were you thinking of going?"  
  
"I got a call, on my cell phone, about twenty minutes ago, that somebody wanted to meet me at the Hampton Inn, in Lincolnshire."  
  
"Do you know why?" Steed queried.  
  
"I haven't the faintest. But it must be important. They said it was a matter of life and death."  
  
"It could be a trap," Steed said anxiously. " Do you remember that time"  
  
"When I was kidnapped for a movie? Of course I do. But this is different," replied Mrs. Peel coquettishly.  
  
"Why is that?" Steed asked.  
  
"Because," Mrs. Peel replied, "you're going with me."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"Now, let's go. I'm supposed to meet them there at 9 am tomorrow."  
  
CHAPTER THREE  
  
Tibett pulled up in front of the Hampton Inn, got out, and gave his keys to the valet who was waiting. Anxiously he looked around.  
  
"Tibett, you fool! Get over here! Do you want Steed to see you when he pulls up?!"  
  
Tibett quickly walked over to the speaker, who was hidden behind a wall.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but I didn't know that he was going to be arriving so soon."  
  
"Yes you fool," the man replied, "Steed should be here any minute."  
  
A light blue Lotus Elan pulled up outside the hotel. Steed, and Mrs. Peel got out, gave their keys to the valet, and looked around, expecting something.  
  
"Who is that woman Steed is with?" Tibett asked  
  
"She is the answer to our problem of how to capture Steed." The handless man replied.  
  
"Well, Mrs. Peel. Where is your mysterious person?" Steed asked.  
  
"I don't know. He told me to meet him here at nine o'clock sharp, and it's already five past."  
  
"Maybe he got held up."  
  
"I don't think so. Maybe"  
  
Just then an employee of the hotel walked up.  
  
"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Peel?" Mrs. Peel nodded. "Gentleman told me to give this note to you."  
  
The boy handed the note to Mrs. Peel and walked away.  
  
"Well, what does it say?" Steed inquired  
  
"It says, 'Meet me in the hotel lounge at twelve. Alone. I'll be waiting. You'll know me by the red carnation I will be wearing." Mrs. Peel replied. "Well, of all the"  
  
"Now, now Mrs. Peel. It wouldn't do to keep this gentleman waiting would it?" Steed said mischeviously, a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"Steed, if you think that I am going to stay here a minute longer, just to meet with someone who stood me up then"  
  
"I'd be right. You don't have to worry. I'll be in contact with you the whole time. Just talk into the recording device on your pin." Steed replied  
  
Mrs. Peel looked down. "Recording device? Steed, why in the world."  
  
Steed had disappeared.  
  
"Sorry Mrs. Peel, but I thought something like this might happen." The voice was coming out of the pin.  
  
"Steed, you could have at least let me know what you were up to."  
  
"Sorry. Hush hush. When you meet this stranger, just talk into the pin."  
  
"Roger." Mrs. Peel glumly replied, and went up the steps into the hotel.  
  
"Quickly Tibett, follow me." The one-handed man said. "I'm going to explain to you my brilliant plan."  
  
The two men quickly walked to the side entrance of the hotel and went in. 


	2. The Plan

CHAPTER FOUR  
  
The handless man, and Tibett quickly entered what appeared to be a broom closet, making sure that no one saw them.  
  
"Pull that mop over there, Tibett." The man commanded.  
  
"Sure thing Mr."  
  
"Don't mention my name. You don't know who can hear us."  
  
"Sorry. I forgot. BOSS."  
  
Tibett pulled the indicated mop, and the back wall of the broom closet sprung open to reveal a set of gray stone steps going down into blackness. A torch hung on the wall. Tibett, and the man walked through the opening. Tibett took the torch out of the holder on the wall, and the back of the wall began to slowly close.  
  
CHAPTER FIVE  
  
The handless man and Tibett were seated at a small beat-up wooden table in a dark stone room. The only light came from a torch in a holder on the wall, and a small candle on the table.  
  
"Can anyone hear us in hear, boss?" Tibett asked  
  
"Not a soul, my friend." The handless man answered.  
  
"Well then, Mr. Big. What do you have in mind for our friend Steed? And who is Mrs. Peel? What happened to his old partner?"  
  
"Well," Mr. Big began, "his old partner, Cathy Gale left to pursue other interests. Mrs. Peel is her replacement."  
  
"So why did we contact her? We could've just asked Steed to meet us here." Tibett said, bewilderment showing on his face.  
  
"Steed's weak point is Mrs. Peel. Should anything even threaten her, Steed would do anything to save her." Mr. Big said. "I should think that this would be clear to anyone. Even a buffle-brained moron such as yourself."  
  
"Oh." Tibett said, understanding clearly now. "So what do we do?"  
  
"Well," Mr. Big looked around, bent close to Tibett's ear, whispering the instructions.  
  
"Uh huh. Uh huh. Wow! That's a great plan boss!" Tibett said enthusiastically.  
  
CHAPTER SIX  
  
Mrs. Peel had changed into low cut lavender dress, which accentuated her body perfectly. Pined onto the dress was the same amethyst lilac pin she had been wearing earlier that day.  
  
"Steed," Mrs. Peel began, "I'm seated in the hotel lounge. It's exactly 11:59, and 50 seconds. The man should be showing up any minute now."  
  
"Roger, Mrs. Peel." Steed replied. Is that the man, to your right, seated, reading a newspaper?"  
  
"Steed, how do you know that there's a man seated to my right, reading a newspaper?" Mrs. Peel inquired.  
  
"I have great instinct." Steed said laughingly.  
  
The man seated to the right of Mrs. Peel stood up, and walked towards her.  
  
"Mrs. Peel, I presume?"  
  
Mrs. Peel nodded. "And who are you? You've kept me waiting for nearly three hours. Not the nicest thing to do to a woman who could have slept in on a Saturday."  
  
"I'm sorry, but it's really very important. Could you spare a moment, and walk around the gardens with me?"  
  
"Couldn't we stay in here? It's much warmer." Mrs. Peel replied, clearly thinking that she didn't want to go anywhere with this strange man.  
  
"No. If we stay in here, someone might overhear us, and I can practically guarantee that we'll be the only people in the garden. Besides, I don't bite, you know."  
  
Mrs. Peel laughed. "All right then, I'll walk around the garden with you," speaking clearly so that Steed could hear her, "but, I must be back by one."  
  
"All right then," the man answered cheerfully.  
  
CHAPTER SEVEN  
  
Mrs. Peel and the man were walking around the bare winter gardens of the hotel. Everything was dead, no flowers were blooming, and the fountains were shut off until spring.  
  
"Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Mrs. Peel asked.  
  
"Well, I," the man began. He looked around nervously. Suddenly he reached out, and with a handkerchief covered Mrs. Peel's mouth and nose. Recognizing the smell of chloroform, Mrs. Peel tried to fight, but the smell was too powerful, and she collapsed. The man stamped on the walkway, and a trap door sprung out of it, Tibett at the opening.  
  
"All right. Here she is, now where's my money?" The man demanded.  
  
"Right here." Tibett answered. He pulled out a revolver, and shot the man, than quickly dragged Mrs. Peel into the trapdoor, before anyone came to investigate the shots.  
  
CHAPTER EIGHT  
  
"Mrs. Peel? Mrs. Peel?" Steed was worried. It had been more than fifteen minutes since he had last heard from Mrs. Peel. She had gone out into the garden with the strange man, but then what? He decided that he should go investigate. Quickly Steed rushed outside and into the gardens, racing around, trying to find Mrs. Peel and the man she had last been seen with. Rounding a corner, Steed saw a group of people gathered around a man who was lying on the ground. Steed inched closer. No the man wasn't just lying on the floor. He was dead. Steed instinctively felt that something was going wrong. No one should be dead. 


	3. The Escape

CHAPTER NINE  
  
Mrs. Peel thought she heard someone calling her name. It sounded like Steed. She awoke suddenly. Her head ached, and when she tried to get up, she discovered that she was bound to a dolly(the kind they use to transport heavy objects). Her vision blurred for a moment, and she shook her head to clear the grogginess.  
  
"So Mrs. Peel, you've finally decided to join us."  
  
Mrs. Peel couldn't help but stare at the man. He was missing a hand.  
  
"Yes, yes, I know. I only have one hand. And do you know who's to blame for this?" demanded the man.  
  
"Peter Pan?"  
  
"Very funny, Mrs. Peel," the man muttered, "No. It was your partner Mr. John Steed."  
  
Mrs. Peel's mind raced. Had Steed ever told her anything about cutting off someone's hand? No. Would he even do such a thing. Well, maybe when he was younger, but she highly doubted it.  
  
"Liar!" Mrs. Peel spat out the words. "Steed is nothing but a gentleman. Now, kindly tell me why your little henchman arranged to meet me."  
  
"He wasn't my little henchman." Mr. Big said this calmly. "In fact, he's dead. I killed him. He was a ploy. A ploy to separate you and Steed."  
  
"I'm afraid I don't understand your reasoning at all."  
  
"It's really quite simple Mrs. Peel. I'm surprised no one has ever thought of this before. You're Steed's weak point. If anything threatens you, Steed will do almost anything." He smiled. "Does that answer your question?"  
  
Mrs. Peel refused to answer. She quelled the rage that was erupting inside of her, and turned her head away from the madman.  
  
"Come, come, Mrs. Peel. It's nothing personal." The man laughed, "I have to go find my employee, Tibett." He walked away, leaving her to wonder what she had gotten Steed into.  
  
Suddenly Mrs. Peel realized something. The fools had left the pin on her dress. She was about to talk into it, when the handless man walked in.  
  
"Whoops. Forgot about that," the man quipped, "Can't have you contacting our friend, can we?"  
  
Mrs. Peel could have spit in his face. But she controlled herself. "Remember, you are from one of the better families in England," she thought to herself.  
  
"Well, I have to be running now. Don't go anywhere. Oh wait, you can't." The man walked away laughing hysterically.  
  
"Just wait," Mrs. Peel thought. "Just wait. I don't need anyone's help to escape from this madman's grip." She started looking around the room for an object to cut through her bonds. Suddenly her eyes fixed on something. She smiled.  
  
CHAPTER TEN  
  
"Yes, Mother, I understand. Of course. Yes. All right. Good-bye." Steed hung up the telephone. He had been talking to Mother, the head of the Ministry. Mother had been no help. What should Steed do now? Look for the person who shot the man or look for Mrs. Peel? He smiled. Mrs. Peel could take care of herself.  
  
CHAPTER ELEVEN  
  
Mrs. Peel hopped over to the wall. A small jagged screw hung in the wall. She began to screw back and forth, quickly. The rope broke. Quickly she untied the other ropes, and ran over to hide behind the door. They would regret kidnapping her. The handless man walked in. His eyes fixed on the empty dolly. "Where could she be?" He muttered to himself.  
  
"Right here." Mrs. Peel replied. She jumped out from behind the door, and began executing judo moves on the man. First in the stomach, then on the back of the neck, the face. Finally the man, unable to take anymore the man collapsed, motionless onto the floor. Mrs. Peel rushed to the door. The fool had left it unlocked. Congratulating herself on her good luck, she cautiously opened the door. No one was in sight. She quickly ran out, to find the exit.  
  
CHAPTER TWELVE  
  
"You fool!" Tibett shouted, "How could you let her escape!?"  
  
"Now wait a minute," Mr. Big began, "let's not forget who's in charge here."  
  
"And let's not forget who ruined all our plans!" Tibett shouted. He pulled out a revolver. "I'm really very sorry about this, but you did ruin our plans, and I can't have you working on this project anymore."  
  
"Wait, what do you mean? You can't" Mr. Big cut off. Tibett pulled the trigger. Once. Twice. Three times. He cooly wiped his face, and walked away.  
  
CHAPTER THIRTEEN  
  
Meanwhile, Mrs. Peel was still searching for the exit. She turned a corner, and found a blonde haired man facing an older man, who lay on the floor. The man was dead, and the blonde was holding a revolver. Quickly, Mrs. Peel started to turn back, but not quickly enough. The man turned and saw her.  
  
"Freeze, Mrs. Peel. I'm sorry you had to see this, but he ruined my plans."  
  
"You must be Tibett."  
  
The man bowed, "At your service. You know, Mrs. Peel, you almost escaped. That door behind you leads outside."  
  
"Why are you telling me this?" Mrs. Peel queried.  
  
"Because you'll never escape."  
  
"Oh, won't I?" Mrs. Peel quickly karate chopped the gun from his hand. A few more judo moves; a kick to the stomach, a hit to his neck, and Tibett was down for the count. Quickly, she ran out of the door that Tibett had pointed to, and straight into Steed.  
  
"Steed? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Coming to rescue you, of course."  
  
"Thanks Steed, but you should know by now that I can take care of myself."  
  
"Oh, I already knew that," Steed replied, "but Mother didn't."  
  
"Do you mean that this whole thing was a test?" Mrs. Peel asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, except for the part where Tibett killed two people."  
  
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Peel inquired.  
  
"Tibett was a madman. He killed two of our agents. I'm surprised you're still alive."  
  
"Does that mean you think I can't handle myself." Mrs. Peel said coquettishly, thinking to herself how much fun it was to flirt with Steed.  
  
"Well, I, that is," Steed stammered.  
  
"Come off it Steed, I was just joking. We'd better get back to my apartment, before the champagne," Mrs. Peel trailed off. Steed had brought out the champagne bottle, and two glasses.  
  
"Steed, where in the world"  
  
"Thought you might like some refreshment." Steed smiled at Mrs. Peel, wishing once again that she wasn't married. 


End file.
